Why does Brind’Amour call ‘Turbo’ the Canes’ silent star?
An argument can be made that Teuvo Teravainen is the most underrated player on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Underappreciated? Maybe by some in the NHL but not by his teammates and coaches.
“He’s doesn’t get a lot of publicity, doesn’t get a lot of props for what he does,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “He’s a two-way player. He’s one of the better ones in the league, in my opinion.”
Sebastian Aho is the highest-paid player on the Canes. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton scores flashy goals and forward Andrei Svechnikov had everyone raving over his lacrosse-play goal this year, an NHL first, and his potential.
Teravainen sits in a corner of the Canes’ locker room at PNC Arena and quietly goes about his business. He’s not a big guy and certainly not a big talker but his play on the ice, where it counts, is all about 200-foot efficiency and consistent production for the Finnish forward.
“I just try to be myself,” Teravainen said in a recent interview. “Of course, I’m a little more confident in the locker room than I was four or five years ago. It’s easier here. I really enjoy my time here.
“It’s a place I want to be. I want to help build this team into a Stanley Cup contender.”
Teravainen, 25, already has a Stanley Cup ring, winning it with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. Traded to the Canes in June 2016, in one of the best moves made by former general manager Ron Francis, the former first-round draft pick was an integral part of Carolina’s push into the playoffs last season and a spot in the Eastern Conference finals.
“He has such good vision out there and can really read the game and read the players,” Aho said. “Good passer, good skill guy. Over the years he has improved his physical game, too, and I think he’s a better skater than he was three years ago when we both came in here.”
While Aho created headlines last July by signing an offer sheet from the Montreal Canadiens, and other restricted free agents in the NHL caused a stir by holding out for months, Teravainen avoided all the RFA mess.
In January, he signed a five-year, $27 million contract, an average payout of $5.4 million. There would be no wait-until-the-summer suspense or protracted haggling, although Aho’s offer sheet -- quickly matched by the Canes -- has him getting $8.54 million a season for the next five seasons.
Teravainen said he tried to get a new contract done in the summer of 2018 but that it took until January 2019.
“Longer than I expected,” he said. “But I just wanted to take care of that. I didn’t have to think about that anymore.
“I feel like my game got better when I signed. I didn’t have to stress about it anymore. It was good to know I was going to be here a long time and I could focus on getting better.”
He did get better. Teravainen had 21 goals and a career-best 55 assists for 76 points, another career high in 2018-19. The 5-11, 191-pound winger had a plus-30 plus/minus rating that easily was the best of his career, and his seven playoff goals led the team.
Teravainen’s game had taken on a more of an edge since Brind’Amour began using him and Aho on the penalty kill last season, taking advantage of their quick instincts and stick work. That has continued at times this year although Brind’Amour has held off having the two Finns on the same line at even strength.
That changed Monday. After four straight losses, Brind’Amour moved Teravainen to Aho’s line opposite Svechnikov.
Aho was asked after Monday’s morning skate if he was looking forward to having “Turbo” -- Teravainen’s nickname -- on his line.
“I’m expecting us to have a good game,” Aho said. “I like to play with him and I feel he likes to play with me. It’s a chemistry thing.”
Aho had two goals in the Canes’ 8-2 win Monday over the Ottawa Senators. His first came shorthanded, on a breakaway. On the second, he swatted in the puck after a Joel Edmundson shot ricocheted off the end-board glass and back over the top of the net.
Aho got the goal, his eighth of the season. With Teravainen battling with Sens defenseman Erik Brannstrom and Svechnikov muscling up with forward Brady Tkachuk in front of the net, Aho was able to slip in and score at the post.
It’s the kind of play Teravainen, who has played 218 consecutive games, has made this season but not one that shows in his analytics, which mostly have had an uptick from last season.
Case in point: high-danger scoring chances. Five on five, Teravainen has been on the ice for 58 chances opposed to 36 against, according to Natural Stat Trick, a hockey analytics site. That’s a 61.7 percent ratio, compared to 52.7 percent last season.
One statistic that is lagging but should improve is his shooting percentage. Teravainen has four goals -- and 11 assists -- in the Canes’ 10-7-1 start and is shooting 9.1 percent on 44 shots. He finished at 12.57 percent last season and 12.43 in 2017-18, and has one of the nastiest releases on the team, so it’s a stat that should get better as the year goes on.
“He does a lot of little things that don’t show up on the score sheet but he does show up on the score sheet with the ability he has,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a gifted player and certainly a huge part of this team.”
